Means for interment



2 Shoots-Sheet 1 J. H. STEVENSON MEANS FOR INTERMENT Filed Sent. 19.1923 Patented Nov. 25, 1924.

JOSEPH HOWARD STEVENSON, Ol BLOOMINGTON, ILLINOIS.

MEANS FOR INTERMENT.

Application filed September 19, 1923.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J OSEPH HOWARD STEVENSON, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and a resident of Bloomington, in the connty of McLean and Stateof Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Means forInterment, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

My invention relates to means for interment, and it consists in thecombinations,

constructions, and arrangements herein described and claimed.

An object of my invention is to provide a means for interment by the useof which the body may be transported to the various places necessary forthe burial ceremony in a selected casket constructed for its ornamentalconfiguration, and from which the body is subsequently transferred to animperishable ceramic casket.

A further object of my invention is to provide a means for interment bythe use of which the transfer of the body from the ornamental or servicecasket to the imperishable casket may be done without violating any ofthe prejudices of the social or religious forms, or without the familybecoming aware of the fact that the transfer of the body is actuallytaking place.

A further object of my invention is to provide a service casket havingtrap doors in the bottom thereof by means of which the inner sealercontaining the body may be lowered from the service casket unobserved.

A further object of my invention is to provide an imperishable ceramiccasket for permanently enclosing the inner sealer containing the body ofparticularly novel structure by means of which the complementary partsof the imperishable casket are sealed upon the lowering of one part uponthe other.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification,and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed outin the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, forming partof this application, in which- Figure 1 is a, sectional view of anembodiment of my invention illustrating the procbottom wall of the innersealer 1.

Serial No. 663,653.

ess for lowering the inner sealer from the service casket.

Figure 2 is a sectional View along the line 22 of Figure 1, and

Figure 3 is a sectional view of an embodiment of my invention.

In carrying out my invention, I make use of an inner sealer 1constructed of an imperishable material and intended to contain the bodyof the deceased. This inner sealer 1 is somewhat smaller than theordinary type of inner sealer so that it may be readily received withina service casket 2. The inner sealer 1 is provided with a pair ofdepending strips 3 arranged in parallel relation with one another andtransversely to the longitudinal dimensions of the sealer. These strips3 are substantially the same thickness as the bottom wall of the servicecasket.

The bottom wall of the service casket comprises three doors 4, 5, and 6,each hingedly mounted by means of hinges 7 to the side wall of theservice casket 2. Spaces 8 between the adjacent edges of the trap doors4, 5, and 6 permit the introduction of the depending strips/0r cleats 3secured to the It will be noted at this time that the strips 3 serve toprevent unintentional longitudinal movement of the inner sealer in thecasket 2 and therefore establish a permanent placement of the innersealer within the casket 2.

Locking members 9 are provided on the doors 4, 5, and 6 and arranged tocooperate with complementary locking members on the side walls of thecasket 2 so that the doors 4, 5, and 6 may be locked in the positionshown in full lines in Figurel. When the doors are in this position, theservice casket may be readily carried from place to place in the hearseor by means of pallbearers precisely in the same manner as the ordinarytype of burial casket.

When the locks 9 are released, the doors 4, 5, and 6 may drop to thepositionvshown in dotted lines in Figure 1, thus permitting the innersealer 1 to be lowered from within the casket in a manner hereinafterdescribed.

In further carrying out my means for interment, I provide a vault ofceramic material, preferably of concrete 10 which is constructed insubstantially the same 1nan ner as the ordinary type of ceramic vaultwith but one exception. This exception is the provision of a raisedplatform or bossed portion 11 on the inner side of the bottom wallthereof. This raised portion 11 is so disposed that an angular space isprovided between its edges and the adjacent side walls of the vault 10.

The raised portion 11 of the vault 10 is arranged to cooperate with acover member 12 to form a permanent imperishable casket which is to takethe place of the service casket in the manner hereinafter described.This cover portion 12 is open at the bottom thereoffand is arranged sothat its lower peripheral edges encompass the edges of the raisedportion 11 in a manner to permit a .sealing compound 13, such as cement,to be introduced and function as a seal for the casket so formed. Thecover portion 12 is reenforced by the use of wire mesh or the like andis provided with suitable means for engaging with straps so that thecover may be lowered at the proper time into the grave or crypt in whichthe vault 10 is placed.

The vault 10 is provided with the usual type of cover 14 which is sealedto the vault in any suitable manner, such as by the use of cement.

In further carrying out my means for interment, it is necessary thatlowering straps 15 be provided which may be placed about the servicecasket 2 so that they will engage with the exposed outer walls of thestrips 3 of the inner sealer and virtually support the inner sealer. Itis obvious therefore that. when the doors 4:, 5, and 6 are permitted todrop into the position shown in Figure 1 that only the straps 15 remainto support the inner sealer 1. Ordinarilv a lowerin frame 16 is em lo edwhich is placed at the top of the grave 17 and supported thereupon bymeans of supporting members 18. These supports 18 further function tosupoprt the service casket 2.

From the foregoing description of the various parts of my invention,theoperation thereof may be readily understood, Let

us assume that the family of-the deceased wishes the funeral ceremony atthe home, followed by a short ceremony at the grave before the finallowering of the casket is brought about. To this end the body is placedwithin the inner sealer 1 by the undertaker and the inner sealer 1 isplaced within the service casket 2. The service casket is then mountedupon the necessary stand in the home. When the ceremony at the home hasbeen completed, the pallbearers may convey the service casket, which isnot a heavy casket, toth'e hearse and subsequently to the grave. Tlieservice casket 2 is then moved straps 1.5 to a position below the top ofthe grave. At this time the participants in the ceremony depart and theceremonies are considered at a close. i

The next operation is that of raising the service casket to its originalposition on the supporting members 18, whereupon the doors 1, 5, and 6are released by means of 3 the locking members 9, and the inner sealer 1is permitted to pass to the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 1by means of the lowering device and the straps 15 through the bottom ofthe service casket and upon 1 the raised portion 11 of the vault 10...

The lowering straps 15 are then secured to the cover portion 12 of thepermanent casket and that portion is lowered over the inner sealer 1into the cement 13 which is" disposed about the raised portion 11, thussealing the inner sealer in an imperishable ceramic casket. The nextstep in the process is that of lowering the cover 16 of the vault to itsfinal position in the vault 10, where-' 1 upon the doors 4, 5, and 6' ofthe service casket may be closed and the service casket removed.

I claim:

1. In a means for interment, a service-- casket having a plurality ofspaced apart trap doors in the bottom wall thereof, an inner sealer forcontaining the body of the deceased arranged for disposition in saidservice casket, said sealer having a pair of parallel depending stripportions on the lower wall thereof arranged to lie between theadjacent'edges of the spaced apart trap doors in said service casket,and to bear upon the lowering straps of the casket-lowering device whensaid straps are placed beneath said service casket.

2. A means for interment of the dead comprising an ornamental servicecasket,

a plurality of spaced apart trap doors form ing the bottom wall of saidservice casket, and an inner sealer for receiving the body of thedeceased, said inner sealer being arranged for disposition within saidservice casket and being provided with depending portions on the bottomWall thereof arranged to lie in the spaces between said spaced aparttrap doors whereby said'jinner sealer is held against longitudinalmovement within said service casket, and where by said depending portionof said'inner sealer is contiguous with the bottom. wall of said servicecasket.

3. A means for interment of the dead comprising a service casket havinga plurality of spaced apart trap doors forming the bottom Wall thereof,an inner sealer for containing the body of the deceased provided withdepending portions arranged to be received in the speces between saidspaced apart doors when said inner sealer is disposed Within saidservice casket, and an imperishable vault for receiving said inner 1Osealer from said service casket when said trap doors are opened topermit the lowering of said inner sealer.

JOSEPH HOWARD STEVENSON.

